Neutron Field Shaping Using Graphite for Reaction Rate Measurements

Neutron field shaping is the suitable method for validation of cross section in various energy regions. By increasing the share of neutrons of a certain energy interval and decreasing the share of other, a reaction becomes more sensitive to selected neutrons. As a result, reaction cross section can be validated in selected energy regions more precisely. The shaping can be carried out by both neutron filters which are materials with high absorption in some energy region, or by diffusion material changing the shape of neutron spectra by means of slowing down process. In the presented experiments, the neutron field of the light reactor 0 (LR-0) research reactor was shaped by both using graphite blocks inserted into the core and Cd cladding for increasing the epithermal reaction rate share in total reaction rates. The calculations were carried out with the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code 6 (MCNP6) code and the most recent nuclear data libraries. The results in the pure graphite neutron field are in good agreement; in case of Cd cladding, significant discrepancies were reported. In case of the 23Na(n,γ)24Na reaction, overestimation by about 14% was reached in International Reactor Dosimetry and Fusion File (IRDFF-II), results in other libraries are comparable. In case of 58Fe(n,γ)59Fe, the overestimation as high as 18% is reported in IRDFF-II. For 64Zn(n,γ)65Zn reasonable agreement was reached in evaluated nuclear data file (ENDF/B-VIII), where discrepancies in pure graphite neutron field or in case of Cd cladding are about 10–15%.

Experimental study of the 197Au(n,2n) reaction cross section

In the present work, the 197Au(n,2n) reaction cross section is experimentally determined relative to the 27Al(n,α)24Na reaction at incident neutron energies of 9.0 to 10.5 MeV by means of the activation technique. The quasi-monoenergetic fast neutron beam was produced via the 2H(d,n)3He reaction at the 5.5 MV Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at the NCSR “Demokritos” and was studied to determine the contribution of background “parasitic” neutrons using the multiple foil activation technique and the SULSA unfolding code. The cross sections for the population of the second isomeric state (12−) of 196Au and the sum of the ground (2−) and first isomeric state (5−) population cross sections were independently determined. Auxiliary Monte Carlo simulations were performed with the MCNP code.

14.8 MeV Neutron Activation Cross Section Measurements for Ge Isotopes

The cross sections of Ge isotopes were measured with the activation method at 14.8 MeV neutron energy. The quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were produced via the 3H(d,n)4He reaction at the 150 kV J-25 neutron generator of INST, AERE. The characteristics γ-lines of the product nuclei were measured with a closed end coaxial 17.5 cm2 high purity germanium (HPGe) detector gamma ray spectroscopy. The cross sections were determined with reference to the known 27Al(n,α)24Na reaction. Cross section data are presented for 72Ge(n,p)72Ga, 74Ge(n,α)71mZn and 76Ge(n,2n)75m+gGe reactions. The cross section values obtained for the above reactions were 24.78±1.75 mb, 1.69±0.11 mb and 860±50 mb, respectively. The results obtained were compared with the values reported in literature as well as theoretical calculation performed by the statistical code SINCROS-II. The experimental data were found fairly in good agreement with the calculated and literature data. Keywords: Activation cross section; Neutron induced reaction; Gamma-ray spectroscopy; 14.8 MeV. © 2009 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved. DOI: 10.3329/jsr.v1i2.1532